Things concerning Jews in Portland and everywhere that happen here and in Israel coming from an American-Israeli.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Why Israel Goes Ahead with Building Around Jerusalem

Nadene Goldfoot
Jews do not dwell on the afterlife, they work on their morality, which is something we care deeply about. "This has been the source of our strength in the face of enduring adversity." What goes on in Israel is under the auspices of a highly moral people, though it doesn't always agree with the wishes of the United States.

Israel has decided to go ahead with" plans for building in an area east of Jerusalem on the very day that the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the Palestinians' status. The government would pursue "preliminary zoning and planning preparations." This development would separate the cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem from Jerusalem--and prevent the possibility of a viable, contiguous Palestinian State. El, the new neighborhood, would connect the large town of Maale Adumim to Jerusalem. 3,000 new housing units would be built in parts of East Jerusalem and Judea-Samaria. "This is a new act of defiance from the Israeli government," Saab Erekat, Palestinian chief negotiator commented.

Goldfoot in her apartment in Safed on bottom floor,notice bars on windows to keep out terrorists-put in by apartment builders.and metal covering of windows. Luckily, I never had to pull them down.

Why now? It's quite obvious. Abbas went ahead to the UN to gain status for Palestine despite the objections of the USA and Israel since this jeopardized the 2 state solution. This 2 state solution cannot come about until the Palestinians quit shelling Israel and recognize Israel, which they refuse to do. They have it in the Hamas charter to destroy Israel and take it over. It cannot be a final Palestine for just Abbas's realm of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) alone. Abbas has periodically shook hands with Hamas and joined in their efforts. Right now since Abbas gained the vote in the UN, Khaled Meshaal of Hamas wants to unite with Abbas again. That would mean that they again both return to the state of plotting to destroy Israel.

Abbas went ahead to seek recognition for a state divided with 2 leaders on two separate pieces of land, east and west of Israel despite Mashaal's being against it. They are not a unified twosome. They refuse to negotiate and outright claim East Jerusalem as belonging to them. It's part of Israel's capital. They have plans to oust all Jews from Judea-Samaria. It is to be Judenrein. They have plans to bring in millions of so called descendants to live there in their place. It just won't work. The whole thing is a plot to destroy Israel and even a kindergarten child can understand this.

Israel has tried for 64 years to have a peace agreement with the so called Palestinians. Since 1967, when Israel was attacked by all her neighbors to be driven out and won, much to the chagrin of the Arabs, she rightly owns the territory they anted into the pot; East Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza. Jordan had previously held East Jerusalem and the Judea-Samaria. Jews could not enter to see their holy sites at all. Under Israel's ruling, all religions have benefited and are welcome; all except terrorists who want to blow things up, that is.

Israel has been fighting wars against a belligerent group of Muslims since its inception in 1948.

The 1967 War is of great importance because this is when Israel gained land. This is when Egypt (United Arab Republic title), Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon attacked with 465,000 soldiers, 2,800 tanks and 800 aircraft that surrounded Israel with the promised backup, according to Nasser, of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab Nation. Israel was a little slow. It took them 6 whole days to win. Johnson warned Israel not to go it alone, which they had to as the armies were at their doorstep and they found themselves alone. Of course the USA remained neutral. Johnson imposed
an arms embargo on the region (France, Israel's other main arms
supplier also embargoed arms to Israel). If they ever planned to help, it was too late. It was over. By contrast, the Soviets were supplying massive
amounts of arms to the Arabs. Simultaneously, the armies of Kuwait, Algeria , Saudi Arabiaand Iraq were contributing troops and arms to
the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian fronts. The Soviets were supplying massive
amounts of arms to the Arabs.

In 1973 they were attacked and that war was titled the "Yom Kippur War, because they were attacked on the highest holiest day of the year for Jews, Yom Kippur, when they asked "G-d for forgiveness for any sins they may have done. It is a day of fasting. Jews were in synagogues in Israel. Many were killed in the ferocious war.

By 1978 Camp David with American, Egyptian and Israeli leaders was created. Menachem Begin was Prime Minister then. It was to bring about peace. Young men-serving in the army never knew about peace when this was happening and dreamt of having a normal country.

1980 was when I made aliyah to Israel. After living and studying in Haifa for 10 months, I moved to Safed in the northern Galilee, quite close to the Lebanon border where English teachers were needed. My apartment was on the ground level with metal bars on the windows, an attempt to keep out marauding terrorists bent on killing. On the way up the hill to my new home I passed an apartment who had just been missed by a rocket from the terrorists which landed behind it, causing a big hole in the ground. I found out that our apartment and all others came equipped with a bomb shelter.

This turned out to be a life no American could possibly understand and thank G-d they've never had to experience. Israelis know every second that they are under attack. They have not been able to enter any store forever without having their handbags checked. They know that they could be called up into reporting to duty at any time. Every citizen serves in the IDF until age 55, at least that was the limit when I was there. They go into service for a month out of every year, a time called "Millueem". Women serve as well, though not on the front lines-again, that was the rule in 1980. 1993 was the Oslo Accords and was when Israel dismantled control over Palestinians. Barak offered so much but Arafat turned them all down without any counteroffers. On September 27th 19 year old David Biri, an IDF soldier from Jerusalem was killed by a bomb in Netzarim in the Gaza Strip. Barak had offered to dismantle and evacuate Gaza along with other neighborhoods there but this had been ignored. Israel suffered casualties that were senseless since the Palestinians were fighting for something they could have had without bloodshed.

The 2nd intifada had begun.

July 2000 came with Prime Minister Ehud Barak going to a 2nd set of Camp David peace talks along with Bill Clinton and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. Would there be an agreement? From 2001 till a few weeks ago with a cease fire, Gaza Hamas terrorists have been shelling southern Israel. Evidently that was their answer.

So it's important to have a neighbor who doesn't want to kill you. It's like having a rule in your neighborhood that serial killers have to be in prison, not on your doorstep. That's so you can sleep at night. Otherwise, you have to stand guard and live in a fort.

What the USA and UN really need to do is look into the reason why the Arabs will not accept Israel. What's holding them back? As Lozowick comments, "it is a scandal of calling into question a living nation's existence (Israel). This ought to shame the prevaricators and defamers, whether they be professors in universities, media distorters, "peace activists" who justify terror, morally deformed intellectuals, self-deceiving unconfessed haters, or merely the herd of the easily led." This world has become full of malice and mendacity and has lost its knowledge of morality.

About Me

I'm the American Nadene Goldfoot. Another lives in England. I'm the one who went to Israel and lived there from 1980 to the end of 1985. I'm an amateur genealogist for our family who also has expanded interests into dna. I now spend my time writing in my 3 blogs teaching about Israel and defending her position.

On my tree I have found Rabbi Samson Wertheimer, RASHI, and King David through DNA testing. Another branch holds the kings and queens of England by genealogy. When current events become deplorable, I turn to this hobby for a lift. It's all whetted my appetite for ancient history of Israel.